Youngster with wobblers

[[131452]]

I bought a rising 5 yo in February and after about 3 months it became apparent that something wasn't right. To cut a long story short , I've had him treated for uocers and early stage OCD in his stifles. Vet came for a review yesterday and quickly became concerned about neurological symptoms. X-ray showed quite notable compression at C5 in his neck which now explains a lot of things: his mood swings and bursts of aggression, inability to back up, swinging the hind legs out, toe dragging , tripping and stumbling. Vet says there's nothing that can be done bar quite serious spinal surgery, which I'm not going to go for. So vet recommend PTS before he becomes a danger to himself and others. He's already lashed out and kicked and bitten me and others. This seemed to settle a lot once the ulcers were treated but recently it's started again. He's also started to rear in hand and "box". One day he's quite sweet and politely picks up his legs, the next day he'll launch at you over the stable door. One day he enjoys a groom , the next day he flinches at the touch on his neck and tries to kick and bite.
I just can't believe my luck . I only had to have my old horse PTS in Jan this year! I'm really struggling with the concept of putting a 5 yo horse down to be honest. But I'm also not comfortable just retiring him into a herd somewhere since this seems to have progressed so quickly over the past few months.

Am I being a really shitty and selfish person if I have him PTS? I'd never ever pass him around- or any horse - especially since he's unpredictable to handle.
I've bet up all night crying about it and now I feel like death. I know in my head that PTS is the right option as he will only get worse but I'm hung up on him being only 5.

 

[ester]

No, I'd absolutely PTS, if he is reacting as you say he is pretty uncomfortable.

 

[claret09]

perhaps get a second opinion just to put your mind at rest?

 

[[131452]]

Thank you Ester. I know you are right and it's the right thing to do. But I feel callous. 😭

 

[be positive]

You really have no choice, it does seem rather callous but he will know nothing about it and sounds extremely unhappy anyway so be kind to him and look after yourself.

 

[milliepops]

You really have no choice, it does seem rather callous but he will know nothing about it and sounds extremely unhappy anyway so be kind to him and look after yourself.

agreed

I have a wobbler (through injury) and I'm fortunate that she's not at the stage where she is feeling it. She's a field ornament and is very happy with her life as it is because she doesn't put herself in positions that make it uncomfortable or give her problems. But as soon as it becomes apparent that it's affecting her quality of life I will be making the same decision for her, it's the only way unfortunately.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

It's not at all callous, the horse is telling you as best he can that he is at best, uncomfortable, more likely, in pain. Pain is often a cause of ulcers and your horse's have flared up again. PTS will be the last kindness that you can do for him.

I do sympathise though, I had to have a 6 yr old Shire pts with what I now believe to have been Cushings/PPID but which was undiagnosed at the time. It was heartbreaking, I'h had her less than a year and she was the 'replacement' for a very elderly Clydesdale.

 

[Leo Walker]

Thank you Ester. I know you are right and it's the right thing to do. But I feel callous. 😭

As someone with consistent low grade back and neck pain that flares up to agonisingly painful, you are not callous at all, you are doing him a favour. Until you live with constant pain you cannot imagine how horrific it really is.

 

[Kat]

It absolutely is not callous, don't beat yourself up, pts is a kindness in these circumstances, he's clearly unhappy and uncomfortable so you are doing it for his benefit not yours. Be kind to yourself

 

[Carrottom]

The vet is right, they do not suggest pts lightly. It's very sad , but really the right thing to do.

 

[[131452]]

As someone with consistent low grade back and neck pain that flares up to agonisingly painful, you are not callous at all, you are doing him a favour. Until you live with constant pain you cannot imagine how horrific it really is.

I also have chronic back and spine pain so I'm aware of how draining it is to live wirh that. I have no idea how much discomfort he may be but when he's cranky, argumentative and borderline aggressive like today I can only assume that he has some pain.

 

[ycbm]

I had one with C3/C4 compression which went critical at ten. I had him put to sleep because he was so ataxic. I'm sorry you are facing this but I would do the same with yours.

.

 

[Melody Grey]

PTS is the right thing to do OP. I had a dangerous one PTS years ago and it helped to confirm I was doing the right thing when someone asked me if I did rather be dealing with the aftermath of a calm PTS or the concequences of the horse injuring me/ someone else. In my mind, there's no question when it's put like that. Go easy on yourself x

 

[Trouper]

By all means get a second opinion to set your mind at rest but if the verdict is the same then please, please PTS. My ex-racer was only 6 and it was heartbreaking but his behaviour was identical to that you describe - only add in biting the vet! He was suffering. I have never regretted doing what I did and I think you have to forget about the age aspect and look at the problem that is facing you. Can he realistically come back from this and be a pain-free, happy and safe horse? I do feel for you.

 

[[131452]]

Vet says that this will only get worse so I don't see how he can come back from this. I've been bitten by him so many times but put this down to him being in pain with the ulcers. He was better once they were treated but despite not being worked I suspect the ulcers are back as he's very cranky again. Has threatened me and grabbed the yard owner by the hair the other day. Not fun for anyone.

 

[Shay]

Just echo the support others have given. PTS is not at all callous. Regardless of his age he is in chronic and sometimes acute pain. Its absolutely horrible and I am so sorry - but sometimes the best thing we can do for them is to let them go painlessly.

 

[[131452]]

I had a few niggling doubts when I bought him earlier this year , mainly because he's quite wide behind. If only I hadn't talked myself out of those niggles. Every time I've done that it's always ended badly.
I chose to use a local vet for vetting rather than paying a bit more for my own vet to travel and come and see him - I don't think the local vet is anywhere near the calibre of my own vet. I've learned a very hard and expensive lesson here.
My horse's welfare will always come first but it is an additional blow that I doubt that NFU will pay out on loss of horse on him - looking at the BEVA guidelines he'd have to be falling over but I'm not prepared to wait until he deteriorates to that stage.
Seriously not a good situation to be in. It's certainly taught me to be very wary of a horse that's wide behind 😢

 

[Trouper]

I had a few niggling doubts when I bought him earlier this year , mainly because he's quite wide behind. If only I hadn't talked myself out of those niggles. Every time I've done that it's always ended badly.
I chose to use a local vet for vetting rather than paying a bit more for my own vet to travel and come and see him - I don't think the local vet is anywhere near the calibre of my own vet. I've learned a very hard and expensive lesson here.
My horse's welfare will always come first but it is an additional blow that I doubt that NFU will pay out on loss of horse on him - looking at the BEVA guidelines he'd have to be falling over but I'm not prepared to wait until he deteriorates to that stage.
Seriously not a good situation to be in. It's certainly taught me to be very wary of a horse that's wide behind 😢

I guess it depends on your insurance but, initially, my insurance company (also NFU) declined to refund his purchase price as we had not tried any remedial treatment and his PTS did not strictly meet the BEVA guidelines. There was no way I was going to put him through painful and inconclusive treatment. My vet wrote a supporting letter to go with my challenge to them that treatment would have ended up costing them much more than his purchase price and was not in the welfare interests of the horse. They agreed and paid out. Like you I was prepared to take the hit but was pleasantly surprised by the response NFU gave me and they happily insured my next horse.
Don't beat yourself up about the decision you made to take him - I firmly believe that horses come to us for a reason and he clearly needed to come to someone responsible like you to act in his best interests. It's just so ****** hard always having to be the grown up!!

 

[[131452]]

Thanks for that Trouper. My vet said that the only treatment would be spinal surgery which he doesn't recommend and I wouldn't put any horse through to he honest and as he's only insured for £3.5K I suspect the surgery plus recovery would be more. So that might be an avenue to explore. My vet is just fantastic both as a vet but also as a supportive person and he'll do whatever he legally can to help me with the insurance. He had to put my old horse to sleep in Jan and NFU wouldn't pay out but that wasn't worth fighting over - the vet didn't charge me for the PTS though. I'll definitely discuss this with him.

Thank you for everyone's support, I know now it's the right thing to do although not easy. I'd just appreciate a break for once lol!

 

[Cortez]

I had to PTS the most beautiful colt I ever bred at 10 months with wobblers. It is the hardest thing, but the only thing to do to save further distress down the line.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

I bought a rising 5 yo in February and after about 3 months it became apparent that something wasn't right. To cut a long story short , I've had him treated for uocers and early stage OCD in his stifles. Vet came for a review yesterday and quickly became concerned about neurological symptoms. X-ray showed quite notable compression at C5 in his neck which now explains a lot of things: his mood swings and bursts of aggression, inability to back up, swinging the hind legs out, toe dragging , tripping and stumbling. Vet says there's nothing that can be done bar quite serious spinal surgery, which I'm not going to go for. So vet recommend PTS before he becomes a danger to himself and others. He's already lashed out and kicked and bitten me and others. This seemed to settle a lot once the ulcers were treated but recently it's started again. He's also started to rear in hand and "box". One day he's quite sweet and politely picks up his legs, the next day he'll launch at you over the stable door. One day he enjoys a groom , the next day he flinches at the touch on his neck and tries to kick and bite.
I just can't believe my luck . I only had to have my old horse PTS in Jan this year! I'm really struggling with the concept of putting a 5 yo horse down to be honest. But I'm also not comfortable just retiring him into a herd somewhere since this seems to have progressed so quickly over the past few months.

Am I being a really shitty and selfish person if I have him PTS? I'd never ever pass him around- or any horse - especially since he's unpredictable to handle.
I've bet up all night crying about it and now I feel like death. I know in my head that PTS is the right option as he will only get worse but I'm hung up on him being only 5.

I'm so sorry to hear about your horse. My friends horse, a ten year old ended up at Liverpool for a diagnosis of Wobblers after having initially been incorrectly diagnosed by her previous vets as having EHV. To cut a very long story short his xrays revealed a narrowing of 17mm in the spinal column. Normal horses have i think it was 51mm. The consultant said she'd never ride him again. She was so fond of the horse so said she was willing to keep him retired but the consultant said as he was so wobbly during an ataxic episode (he wasn't consistent) he was a very real danger of falling on people. He was grade 3 verging on 4. Within 2 hours her horse was PTS classed as 'under humane grounds' by the consultant. She got his value. That was NFU as we were both clients at the time. It met BEVA guidelines because he was classed as too dangerous to handle.

She said that she could imagine a scene in her head where her horse was down in the field overnight in the pouring rain unable to rise to his feet. She knew she had done the right thing.

That scene of that real possibilty helped her to come to terms with it even though the horse was fit and very well looking in every other sense. You owe it to your horse regardless of age to pts. My heart goes put to you it really does.

I will PM you later. Im in Costa at the moment!

 

[Red-1]

I lost the horse in my avatar to wobblers. He did 2 years on retirement, but eventually he was lurching somewhat in the stable when turning in the restricted space (or anything involving some lateral movement) so that was that. It was a tough call as he looked a million dollars and if you lunged him and he was at a consistent circle at a consistent speed (or trotting up in a straight line), he looked like a show horse ready to go, absolutely sound and with great elevation.

I have no doubts it was the right time though.

I got nothing from the insurance, in fact I knew that was coming so by the time he went he was not even insured any more.

 

[[131452]]

He was very aggressive in the stable today , tried to bite me several times and squashed me against the wall. I think his ulcers are back as this is how he was the first time around with them. He has everything done for him to prevent ulcersso I guess there's pain or discomfort or frustration in him that causes them to come back. I think I need to make the appointment to let him go sooner or later now. It makes me feel sick just thinking about it but I know it's the right thing to do. He can't be very happy if that's how he behaves.

 

[AmyMay]

It’s heartbreaking, but in your shoes I’d be making the call tomorrow. I’m so sorry

 

[Red-1]

He was very aggressive in the stable today , tried to bite me several times and squashed me against the wall. I think his ulcers are back as this is how he was the first time around with them. He has everything done for him to prevent ulcersso I guess there's pain or discomfort or frustration in him that causes them to come back. I think I need to make the appointment to let him go sooner or later now. It makes me feel sick just thinking about it but I know it's the right thing to do. He can't be very happy if that's how he behaves.

Mine was quite wide behind as well BTW, and was also harsh with the toes of his back shoes.

He also became aggressive on occasion, which was out of character, and this was also one of the factors when I let him go.

It really hurt to let him go as he was a heart horse and could have lived here in retirement for ever, I really miss the ginger one but I had to do what was best for him. I actually had his physio come and assess him (not to treat) to give an outside perspective on the time. She concurred with what I already knew (hence specifically not booking a treatment), but he looked so darned well I felt like I wanted a second viewpoint. She was someone with no axe to grind whose opinion I trusted.

 

[ycbm]

Mine looked stunningly well, but his neck x rays were clear about the issue, and I wasn't prepared to face the fact that at any time I might find him down and unable to get up

.